Want to eat healthier and support local food initiatives? Then consider joining a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) and put your money where your mouth is--literally. Eat local for a healthier you and a healthier community.

Want to eat healthier and support local food initiatives? Then consider joining a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) and put your money where your mouth is–literally. Eat local for a healthier you and a healthier community.

Why Community Supported Agriculture?

You support local farmers, who in many cases need the stability of a CSA to exist. You also support local food, which is more sustainable and better for the planet. Supporting your community in making it more diverse, resilient and economically vibrant. And you support yourself (and your family) by eating better and discovering foods you may not have access to otherwise.

Community supported agriculture is a system that allows patrons or subscribers to directly support local farmers and receive a yield or share of the grown produce or other farm products. CSAs have been gaining in popularity as more people learn about the valuable benefits of eating and supporting local, more sustainable food practices. There are many variations. Shares can be just vegetables, or they can also come with fruits, eggs, dairy, bread or even locally raised meats; it all depends on what’s growing on the farm.

How Does It Work?

Subscribers pay an agreed upon amount for an agreed upon time period to the farmer or farmer cooperative ahead of the planting season. Once the crops start coming in, each subscriber receives a share of the “profits”. The farmer benefits because s/he knows how much money is coming in and has money ahead of the growing season. It provides a valuable foundation to the fiscal health of the farm, making farming less of a feast and famine pursuit.

To learn more or to sign up for a CSA, visit a local farmers market and talk to the farmers there. Odds are some of the farmers offer a CSA program. In addition, visit Local Harvest, a website all about connecting farmers and their customers.

“If you eat, you’re an investor.” That’s the motto of a startup called Credibles that aims to bring a crowdfunding model to all sorts of food businesses.

Credibles is the latest outgrowth of Slow Money’s efforts to catalyze thoughtful investment in a local food system. The program offers “edible credits” which are a small-scale investment platform for small, artisan food businesses.

Through the Credibles website, edible credits are sold by these food businesses to the public as way of raising capital. “Investors” can then redeem their credits for food, and most of the food companies offer a bonus (up to an additional 10 percent) for customers who pre-pay.

The credits work like a gift card. All the customer has to do is tell the cashier that she wants to pay with credibles; the cashier can look up the customer’s account, deduct the total from her balance, and voila! Done. Credibles credits can even be given as gifts.

“Good food needs both money and time to grow and ripen. Small-scale investments have a huge impact on a food business’s ability to thrive. And you don’t need to be able to write big checks,” said Arno Hesse, founder and CEO of Credibles.

Credibles brigns crowdfunding to food using an eater-centric world view. The model taps both finance (Slow Money) and technology (Clearbon) expertise to revamp traditional funding methods and newer crowdfunding methods. A win-win for entrepreneurs and customers alike, Credibles makes it easy to support local restaurants and food businesses the same way community-supported agriculture (CSA) programs support farmers.

Buying edible credits also means you can leave your wallet at home next time you venture to the farmers’ market or grab a neighborhood lunch because these businesses already have your money. You paid it forward.

So far, the Credibles website has businesses in New York, California, and Oregon, but the company has plans to take the system nationwide.

If you're hip to CSAs—community supported agriculture, where you pay upfront for a "subscription" to fresh food from a farm—then you might want to keep your eyes open for the latest trend, CSRs: community supported restaurants.

If you’re hip to CSAs—community supported agriculture, where you pay upfront for a “subscription” to fresh food from a farm—then you might want to keep your eyes open for the latest trend, CSRs: community supported restaurants.

A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of checking out a sort of “pre-opening” party for a new restaurant and marketplace selling fast, convenient, chef-inspired food in Boulder, Colorado that’s also healthy, gluten-free, GMO-free, vegan (except for the meat, which omnivores can add) and allergy-friendly.

But the really exciting aspect of the Fresh Thymes Eatery (besides the fact that the food is crazy delicious), is that they’re using a CSR model to help with their startup costs. Here’s how the website describes it:

Members give a certain amount of money to Fresh Thymes Eatery up front. Then all that community cash goes straight to helping us launch the restaurant. Once we’re in business, you get repaid in all sorts of super fresh perks, including discounts, monthly comped meals, members-only foods, swag, private dinners and other valuable bonuses. You even get your name on our Founders Wall.

It’s “localvesting” at it’s best, and now’s your chance to be a part of the freshest times (pun intended) Boulder has ever seen.

Investors can choose their committment level from $250 all the way up to $5,000, and the perks vary at the different levels as well. Two hundred and fifty dollars a year will get you two free meals per month and access to member-only specials, while the $5,000 level nets you all kinds of perks, from free meals and activities with the chef and founder to tickets to a private dinner and three member-only gifts per month.

Turns out, this business model is a growing trend, especially with farm-to-plate-style restaurants. The Travel and Leisure blog says CSRs are, “A natural next step in the increasing obsession with hyper-local food, CSRs allow customers to become small investors in local eateries, giving them perks such as free meals—as well as a vested interest in seeing the restaurant succeed.”

Our relationships with food are always changing, and one thing is for sure, organic and healthy food choices are becoming more popular every day. The new year is shaping up to be one of the most exciting times for nutritious and tasty foods. Take a look at our food trend predictions for 2011.

]]>Our relationships with food are always changing, and one thing is for sure, organic and healthy food choices are becoming more popular every day. The new year is shaping up to be one of the most exciting times for nutritious and tasty foods. Take a look at our organic food trend predictions for 2011.

Superlocal: The number of farmers markets, community supported agriculture programs, rooftop gardens and local beekeeping operations have become a full-on food movement, and don’t show any signs of slowing down. Indoor gardens, vertical gardens and traditional backyard gardens are also cropping up more and more, and we think you’ll see a super-localized focus explored in restaurants, grocery stores and kitchens across the country. What’s happening in your immediate neighborhood that’s both nutritious and delicious? Probably a whole lot more than you think.

Social Eating: Social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter have inspired us to connect in new and exciting ways, including shutting down the computer and taking our connections offline and onplate. With the trend towards superlocal foods on the rise, community eating is also going to be a huge trend in 2011. We don’t just mean more dinners with family and friends, but community supported kitchens, potlucks and those long, savored meals a la the French Paradigm, where people enjoy spending time with each other, and lots of great food stretching for hours.

Organic Fruit: We’ve documented some startling news in the fruit world in 2010 here on Organic Authority. From the possibility of GM apples and oranges, to toxic pesticides now approved for use on California strawberries, be on the lookout for organic fruits at your local markets and restaurants. Organic fruits can’t be genetically modified or contain any pesticides and they taste better than most conventional options, too.

Home Canning and Preserving: With the move toward growing locally and wild foraging for food, you may find you actually have a lot more yummy goodness available than imagined. Who would let these great juicy gifts go to waste? Exactly. Home preserving, pickling and canning is easy, inexpensive, tasty and healthy. We predict it will be a huge trend in 2011 and onward through the decade.

Medicinal Foods: Threats from food poisoning to flu strains can cause fears and concerns over our food safety, even with the passing of the new Food Safety Bill. Immune boosting foods such as super mushrooms like reishi, shitake and maitake; and superherbs and vitamin and mineral-rich superfoods like chocolate, which improve energy, sex drive, immune function and mood will tickle taste buds in 2011.

Vegan:Bill Clinton, Mike Tyson and even Disney World have been embracing the diet that omits animal products. With crowded and disease-filled factory farms and food poisoning incidents on the rise, there are more reasons than ever to eat a vegan diet than just the delicious and healthy array of legumes, whole grains, fruits and vegetables.

Foraging: Research has shown that just 5 minutes in nature can boost mood and have a relaxing effect. Wild foods you may find on a calming nature hike like berries, mushrooms, ramps, herbs, greens, avocadoes, and all sorts of fruits (especially in Hawaii!), can be more nutritious for you than foods grown on farms. Wild soil is often healthier than farmed soil, adding vital nutrients. Oh yeah, and wild foods won’t cost you a thing!

Sugar is Sweet: It’s perhaps no coincidence that high fructose corn syrup has been commonly shortened to a four-letter word. The Corn Refiners Industry responsible for marketing HFCS has tried to shake its bad rap this year by changing the name to ‘corn sugar.’ But who are they fooling? Responding to demand, sodas have been replacing HFCS with real sugar and we think that’s just the tip of the iceberg, er, sugarcube. Still, practice moderation with sweets, natural or otherwise.

Photo: Jill Ettinger

Food Apps: Do you find it a little annoying that your cell phone is probably smarter than you? The plus side is that as we get used to pocket-sized Einsteins ruling our lives, there really is a lot to take advantage of. Have yourself at least one food app from restaurant finders and reviews to recipes, ingredient explanations (what is maltodextrin, really?), recipe suggestions (great when you’ve got more wild berries than you know what to do with) and supermarket special deals available only through smart phones.

Americana Revisited: Comfort foods are more than just reminders of home. They can actually be some of our healthiest options when we go with the made-from-scratch — even if it’s sweets like cookies and pies and fresh-squeezed lemonade — which we think you’ll be seeing a lot of in 2011. Simple dishes like Grandma’s meat and potatoes will get some creative Americana love vegan-style this year, too.

Just when you thought food sourcing couldn’t get any better than the farm-to-table movement, in comes an even more radical movement: the community-supported kitchen. If you’re into buying local foods, you’ve got to learn about this new phenomenon. And if you get in on one while they’re in these initial formative years, you may even be part of a revolutionary food movement.

Just when you thought food sourcing couldn’t get any better than the farm-to-table movement, in comes an even more radical movement: the community-supported kitchen. If you’re into buying local foods, you’ve got to learn about this new phenomenon. And if you get in on one while they’re in these initial formative years, you may even be part of a revolutionary food movement.

You may have heard about community supported agriculture by now (No? Learn here). CSAs, as they’re called, are businesses set up and run by small farmers to put their food directly in the hands of the community — by means of weekly, monthly or seasonal memberships. As a CSA member, you pay into a particular membership from the farm, and this “food subscription” buys you a regular “share” of that farmer’s bounty — usually fruits and vegetables, but sometimes including dairy and meats from the farm. It’s like buying stock in that farm — you pay them your dollars directly to support their business, and in turn, you get a share of the profit every season.

But we’re not talking about CSAs, we’re talking about CSKs: community-supported kitchens. These CSKs take the platform of a CSA and apply it towards an operational kitchen that produces food staples from locally-farmed ingredients. The CSK is supported not only by the community’s memberships (as with a CSA), but also by direct participation from the community. In a community-supported kitchen, you go beyond just getting raw goods from your local farmer. Here, you step inside the kitchen, learn about the foods, learn about the farmers, work with the chefs and learn to make nutritious, wholesome meals from those raw goods. It’s a fusion of local food with education, inspiration and participation. And it’s spreading like wildfire.

The first kitchen to develop the CSK model was Three Stone Hearth, situated in the all-too-appropriate Berkeley, California (home of legendary food reformer Alice Waters). This kitchen collaboration is run by five co-owners and is supported by volunteers who come in on a daily basis to help cook and prepare meals for the community members. Three Stone Hearth not only creates weekly boxes of food staples made from locally-sourced foods, but they make foods that follow time-honored methods of traditional food preparation that date back hundreds of years. Grains are sprouted, whole animal fats are used, animal organs are used in pates, fermented drinks are made from whole herbs, and cultured dairy products are created — all on site, and all with the help of community members.

Three Stone Hearth, as other CSKs, has created a type of kitchen sanctuary where locals can come by and truly become a part of the food community, rather than remain mere spectators. Monthly dinners with seasonal feasts, cooking classes and educational speaking series may all be a part of the integrated CSK model. Bring your kids, bring your friends, bring a camera and a notebook, and bring a full appetite — all things in the name of good food come to fruition at a well-run CSK.

In a world of mass production where we’re struggling to find value in the products we buy, the people our dollars support, and the way we live our lives, it brings hope and inspiration to find ideas like the CSK popping up in our culture. Get a bit closer to your food, to your farmer and to the friends you never knew you had in your own neighborhood.

Looking for farm fresh produce without the hassle of planting your own? Sign up for a CSAs (Community Supported Agriculture) and you’ll get produce straight from a local farm. Aside from the super fresh produce, CSAs also have many eco-friendly benefits and even though all the winter CSAs are already booked up, you should to sign up for your summer share now!

Looking for farm fresh produce without the hassle of planting your own? Sign up for a CSAs(Community Supported Agriculture) and you’ll get produce straight from a local farm. Aside from the super fresh produce, CSAs also have many eco-friendly benefits and even though all the winter CSAs are already booked up, you should to sign up for your summer share now!

What is a CSA?

CSAs (community supported agriculture) give city dwellers direct access to high quality, fresh produce grown locally by regional farmers. When you sign up and become a member you are purchasing a “share” of produce from a local farmer. Members pay for an entire season of produce upfront and pickup their share weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly at a drop-off point. The members must also volunteer two to four hours to help maintain the CSA.

The Benefits of CSAs

Helps support small local farms.

Eat healthy, fresh food, and explore new foods.

Cut down on the number of miles your food travels from the farm to your plate.

Connect with the food you eat by meeting your farmers and exploring the farms.

By direct sales to community members, who have provided the farmer with working capital in advance, growers receive better prices for their crops, gain some financial security, and are relieved of much of the burden of marketing.

Members share in the risks of farming, including poor harvests due to unfavorable weather or pests.

Josh Mitchell, proprietor of The Mitchell Family Farms in Kansas, has seen his customer base grow to nearly 50 members this year.

His CSA costs $400 for a full share and $200 for a half share, and goes for 20 weeks. Despite the price of community supported agriculture, Josh says more people are realizing it is better to go natural and avoid all the chemicals.

CSA's may be getting more mainstream, but some stereotypes still hold true, most of the people I see picking up their share are dressed in earth tones and wearing sandals.

Josh Mitchell, proprietor of The Mitchell Family Farms in Kansas, has seen his customer base grow to nearly 50 members this year.

His CSA costs $400 for a full share and $200 for a half share, and goes for 20 weeks. Despite the price of community supported agriculture, Josh says more people are realizing it is better to go natural and avoid all the chemicals.

CSA’s may be getting more mainstream, but some stereotypes still hold true, most of the people I see picking up their share are dressed in earth tones and wearing sandals.

]]>http://www.organicauthority.com/blog/organic/kansas-residents-digging-local-community-supported-agriculture/feed/1U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Going for Positive Changehttp://www.organicauthority.com/blog/organic/us-secretary-of-agriculture-going-for-positive-change/
http://www.organicauthority.com/blog/organic/us-secretary-of-agriculture-going-for-positive-change/#commentsThu, 12 Mar 2009 10:18:42 +0000http://www.organicauthority.com/blog/?p=2955With the election of Barack Obama, America’s new buzzwords are “hope” and “change” and it’s catching on. It’s out with the old way of thinking and in with the new.

]]>http://www.organicauthority.com/blog/organic/us-secretary-of-agriculture-going-for-positive-change/feed/0Get Hip to Community Supported Agriculture!http://www.organicauthority.com/blog/organic/get-hip-to-community-supported-agriculture/
http://www.organicauthority.com/blog/organic/get-hip-to-community-supported-agriculture/#commentsWed, 11 Mar 2009 10:21:26 +0000http://www.organicauthority.com/blog/?p=2942You’d never guess it on the east coast, because it’s freaking cold, but spring will be here soon. In New Jersey, that means the local Italian families will be planting their disproportionately large gardens in their backyard, my family included.

But I live in an apartment, so I can’t. That’s why last year I joined a CSA, short for Community Supported Agriculture. In fact, that picture is my box share from Labor Day 2008. It was packed with heirloom tomatoes, bell peppers, beets, garlic, lettuce and a lot more.

In addition to the old standbys, i.e. lettuce and tomatoes, you get exotic stuff too, like kohlrabi and daikon. The only drawback is the occasional stowaway, like a giant grasshopper, which makes me shriek like a little girl! But I’d still recommend a CSA to anyone.

]]>You’d never guess it on the east coast, because it’s freaking cold, but spring will be here soon. In New Jersey, that means the local Italian families will be planting their disproportionately large gardens in their backyard, my family included.

But I live in an apartment, so I can’t. That’s why last year I joined a CSA, short for Community Supported Agriculture. In fact, that picture is my box share from Labor Day 2008. It was packed with heirloom tomatoes, bell peppers, beets, garlic, lettuce and a lot more.

In addition to the old standbys, i.e. lettuce and tomatoes, you get exotic stuff too, like kohlrabi and daikon. The only drawback is the occasional stowaway, like a giant grasshopper, which makes me shriek like a little girl! But I’d still recommend a CSA to anyone.

If you live in an area where shopping for organic food poses a challenge, don't throw in the all-natural kitchen towel! Many Americans in similar circumstances have found the perfect solution: community supported agriculture, or "CSA." First popular in Japan and Switzerland in the 1960s, the CSA movement has -- pardon the pun -- taken root with a vengeance in the United States, where it is sometimes referred to as "subscription farming."

]]>Having trouble buying the highest-quality seasonal organic produce? Unable to find a wide variety of natural and organic fruits and vegetables to bring home? Lack the backyard space to grow your own natural and organic foods?

If you live in an area where shopping for organic food poses a challenge, don’t throw in the all-natural kitchen towel! Many Americans in similar circumstances have found the perfect solution: community supported agriculture, or “CSA.” First popular in Japan and Switzerland in the 1960s, the CSA movement has — pardon the pun — taken root with a vengeance in the United States, where it is sometimes referred to as “subscription farming.”

How, exactly, does a CSA work?

By definition, CSAs are composed of “a community of individuals who pledge support to a farm operation so that the farmland becomes, either legally or spiritually, the community’s farm, with the growers and consumers providing mutual support and sharing the risks and benefits of food production,” according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Community members — usually referred to as farm “shareholders” — pledge to share the expected costs of a farm’s operation, including the farmer’s salary. Members can stipulate that all produce must be grown under the strict tenets of organic farming and organic gardening practices. Each individual’s investment yields a share of farm crops — not to mention a close connection to freshly picked organic produce that hasn’t been sitting on grocery shelves for days or even weeks.

Perhaps CSA expert Elizabeth Henderson, author of “Sharing the Harvest: A Guide to Community-Supported Agriculture,” puts it best: “Starting a community supported agriculture project is a little like having a baby — you unleash biological and social forces that may take you in directions you never expected.” As a shareholder, you demonstrate respect for the earth by taking responsibility for organic farming practices, energy-efficient production and distribution, paying local farmers a decent wage, controlling the land in your area and elevating environmental consciousness.

“Most CSAs offer a diversity of vegetables, fruits and herbs in season,” the USDA notes. “Some provide a full array of farm produce, including shares in eggs, meat, milk, baked goods and even firewood. Some farms offer a single commodity or team up with others so that members receive goods on a more nearly year-round basis. Some are dedicated to serving particular community needs, such as helping to enfranchise homeless persons. Each CSA is structured to meet the needs of the participants, so many variations exist, including the level of financial commitment and active participation by the shareholders; financing, land ownership and legal form of the farm operation; and details of payment plans and food distribution systems.”

Luckily, the Internet has made it easy to track down a CSA in your area. Several excellent online directories provide CSA listings:

The Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) Program at Utah State University in Logan has a fully searchable CSA locator, organized by state. Links to individual farms are only a mouse click away.

These websites also allow you to add your local CSA to their resource guide so you can publicize your community’s efforts — a move that will attract more shareholders.

For additional information on setting up or joining a CSA, visit the SARE online store, where you may purchase a wide range of books and reference guides for developing a sustainable agricultural solution in your hometown.